fitness friday: weight loss

This isn't so much of a "fitness" post than it is a healthy, weight loss post. I started my healthy eating one week ago and in since then I have lost SIX pounds! I know that six pounds is a lot to lose in one week, but when you cut out all junk food and sugar suddenly, this is just what happens. Kind of like how the Biggest Loser people can lose 30 pounds in the first week, when you abruptly start filling your body with nutrients instead of Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches, it's easy to lose a lot in the first week. Here is kind of a run-down of what I ate this week (and liked it!)

1. I went to the grocery store and loaded up on healthy stuff, including lots of fruit. I bought bananas, kiwis, oranges, apples, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and those Naked drinks with a ton of fruit in them.

2. Most of the fruit I bought went into smoothies. I have made one every morning this week. Justin and I love them and I've been experimenting with flavor combinations. I use mostly frozen blueberries and raspberries, since they are less expensive that way, and supplement fresh fruit along with the frozen. We have done strawberry-banana, strawberry-kiwi, mixed berry and even a pomegranate-banana. Really yummy!

3. I'm trying to limit the amount of carbs from breads and things, so I've been eating a lot of Flat-Out multi-grain + flax wraps, multi-grain cereal and multi-grain crackers (Wasa). I really, really like to make a Flat-Out wrap pizza by sprinkling the wrap with EVOO, marinara sauce and a sprinkling of WW low-fat cheese. Bake it at 350 for 10 minutes and it is surprisingly good. I read that Carrie Underwood eats these as a snack. You can make it for less than 300 calories!

4. We have also been eating nuts and seeds in moderation like peanuts, almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds. A fun snack I made this week was a celery stalk with all-natural peanut butter and low-fat sesame seed granola sprinkled on top. Justin doesn't like celery and he actually liked this snack!

5. One thing I have never eaten enough of were veggies! I'm a terrible veggie eater, but this is what you should be getting the most amounts of on a diet. I've made myself celery and cucumber snacks, spinach salads with carrots and cucs, and even put spinach on a low-fat turkey wrap. We have tomatos, celery, kale, spinach, cilantro, carrots, and baby greens in the fridge for snacking and meals. I've even found some "green" smoothie recipes where you add kale or spinach to them and they actually aren't that bad.

Stay tuned in next week for more weight loss progress (hopefully!).